Ace of Spades Sneak Peek(36)

She can’t do that.

“You can’t do that.”

Belle wipes her face harshly. “Oh, but I can! The girlfriend is way more important than the ex–best friend,” she says, giving me one last look before storming back down the hall.

I feel numb. My arms are frozen.

“That was amazing…,” I hear one of the girls say.

“She really showed her!”

I watch Belle—her head bowed, and her shoulders hunched—getting farther away.

I am a horrible person. I didn’t know about Belle and Jamie, but even if I had, that probably wouldn’t have stopped anything from happening between us. I wouldn’t have cared about her feelings. I just wanted him for myself, even if it meant hurting Belle in the process.

“What a bitch,” I hear.

And maybe if it were another time, I would have thought of a smart comeback or walked off with my head held high or found a way to put them in their place. Instead, I turn to face the three demons again, devious smiles on their cherubic faces, and my hand suddenly comes back to life. It whacks the middle one’s face hard enough that it stings my own palm. She immediately covers her cheek, and her jaw hangs open.

I hear gasps around me as I stumble back. The girl’s expression slowly transforms into a smirk, mischief dancing in her blue-green eyes.

She opens her mouth wide, an overexaggerated scream erupting from it.

And in that moment, I know I’m screwed.



* * *



Headmaster Ward sits behind his desk, across from me, staring into my soul with his small black eyes, his long wiry fingers crossed over one another.

“Headmaster Ward, it is not in my character to do something like that. I’ve never gotten into a fight before—things are just really hard lately. I feel like someone is out to get me.”

I’m so over today.

“Miss Adebayo, there are countless witnesses, most with spotless records, who say you were bullying the girl. I thought you, as Head Prefect, would know better.”

“That’s not true!” I say, voice rising. “They are trying to make me look bad. They don’t even know me!”

His thin lips turn inward. “And why would they do that?”

I hesitate. Would he even believe me if I told him about Aces? I’ve watched enough murder mystery shows to know nothing good comes from telling on the anonymous bully.

I sigh, then look down. “There’s this person, or people, texting the entire student body, spreading rumors about me and a few other students, and making school very hard to be in right now.”

I look up at him again, and his face hasn’t changed. He doesn’t even look surprised.

“I’ll look into it,” Headmaster Ward tells me. Even though it’s not much, and he doesn’t look like he cares, a tiny weight lifts. Something is happening.

Maybe I should have just told a teacher all along.

“We have a zero-tolerance policy for violence. You’re lucky the girl’s parents have decided not to press charges against you. As this is your first misdemeanor, I won’t add it to your permanent record, but this is your first strike. Another, and there will be serious consequences.”

He dismisses me and I leave his office, passing through hallways where there are still people lurking, even though school finished half an hour ago.

I’m staring at my dead phone, not bothering to keep my head up and feign confidence. I feel too dejected to pretend. I knew Aces wasn’t finished with me.

I bump into a soft figure. His cologne and the familiarity of his form make me look up.

“Oh, hi,” I say awkwardly. Jamie’s hair is pushed back by a bright-red headband, which clashes with the light blue of his football uniform.

“Hey, Chi,” he says, avoiding looking at me straight.

“We need to talk—”

“I think we should distance ourselves for now…,” Jamie says, staring at a locker behind me. “I want to be friends, but I also love Belle and don’t want to lose her.”

Love. Wow.

“I’m gonna convince her that you don’t even like me like that and that it didn’t mean anything.”

I laugh, mostly in disbelief. “Sure, after you told her otherwise.”

He looks taken aback by the fact that I know that. I raise an eyebrow at him, waiting to see what lie he’ll tell next.

“She’ll listen to me,” he says matter-of-factly.

“You can’t just say something and then convince someone you didn’t say it, or that it didn’t happen.”

This is what Jamie does. He talks about everything that happened like it meant nothing. Rationalizes things, carves out new memories for you.

I like you a lot, Chi. For real, he’d said that night.

The past ripples between us, pulling me back in—the night of his party flashing by in broken fragments.

I remember arriving, meeting Jamie, feeling on top of the world. I remember Jamie handing me a drink, wrapping his arms around me, asking me to meet him in his bedroom. I remember thinking He likes me as he pulled away.

Then time winds forward. I remember stumbling, his arms wrapping around me, holding me close, and me thinking He likes me, us kissing, He likes me, my eyes still wet, heart beating fast for no reason.

My head stings and the memory pauses abruptly.